OK I know it's very sad that we've just arrived in Bangkok and have come straight to an internet cafe to check our emails. There's a good reason though - I have visa issues for the UK and we're finally getting them sorted.
Initial impressions:
1. Organised - our cab was pre-booked and took us straight to our hotel even though there were not that many shared words of English and/or Thai. Nice bloke though.
2. Clean. After India, even the local landfill will look sanitary but this place is CLEAN. Like eat your dinner off the ground. Maybe I'm just still in India mode but I'm sure it's the cleanest place I've ever seen.
3. Happy. Everyone is STOKED to see us. And I mean ecstatic. And when you say thank you in Thai - the word 'beaming' doesn't begin to describe the smiles! Love it!
4. Smells heavenly - outside our hotel is a food stall selling noodles the likes of which occurs everywhere in this wonderful kingdom. Can't wait to have some for breakky!
5. Cheap. Hotel for $12 in the middle of town. Awesome.
So initial impressions are great. I already feel an affinity for this place but I think it's because I was getting a bit sick of india. And the fact that we had leering drunk Indian men on the plane, exactly the type that I'd tried to avoid for 9 weeks, made me even more happy to get here.
Loving it.
Loving you all.
Kxx
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Bollywood!
Well. It was only a matter of time until we were 'discovered'. Yes, we are in Mumbai, home of Bollywood, and our hotel manager asks us if we're interested in being in a Bollywood film.
Hell yes!
So tomorrow, at 8am, our driver Ajmed will pick us up and take us to a Bollywood studio where we will hopefully be placed front and centre in a cool Bollywood flick. What to wear???? We are on our last three days in India and getting involved in an Indian film will be just what the doctor ordered.
Last night was hellish on a 14 hour bus ride (which was less than 600km!) on the most crap roads i've ever experienced. Sleep was impossible and comfort was forgotten after the first 20 minutes or so. And during the early hours of this morning, an altercation between our busdriver and some people out on the road ended in our bus getting hit by a rock! Lucky he made like a shepherd and got the flock out of there. Suffice it to say, it was shit. And I'm glad we've been doing trains around the rest of India.
We arrived into Mumbai this morning and the city looks almost like Brussels or Paris - very European buildings. It's quite clean and less crowded than expected also....
Anyway, hope you guys are all well and happy. On Wednesday we leave v early for Thailand and will be there by mid arvo. Can't wait!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Relax
Sorry for not blogging for so long. Tom and I are in mega sloth mode - living in the lovely apartment that the Malhotra's have so kindly allowed us to live in for a week! We are in Panaji, still in Goa, and the place is lovely. The apartment is really modern and i've loved cooking for the first time in a couple of months! YUM!
But some bad news in the Lewis family, my grandfather passed away last week. The funeral is today and I wish I could be there. Not because I want to go to the funeral - I hate funerals - but I really wish I could be there for mum and dad and give them both a big hug. Hope it wasn't too horrible for them.
We are today in Anjuna doing some christmas shopping.... Anjuna has a great market on a Wednesday with stuff from all over India so it's present time!! I might even get some for myself!
Anyway, things are still good here and it's only a week today til we leave for Thailand. More beaches and beer.
But some bad news in the Lewis family, my grandfather passed away last week. The funeral is today and I wish I could be there. Not because I want to go to the funeral - I hate funerals - but I really wish I could be there for mum and dad and give them both a big hug. Hope it wasn't too horrible for them.
We are today in Anjuna doing some christmas shopping.... Anjuna has a great market on a Wednesday with stuff from all over India so it's present time!! I might even get some for myself!
Anyway, things are still good here and it's only a week today til we leave for Thailand. More beaches and beer.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Sunny Goa
Hey Guys
Goa is incredible. The best place we've been in India and I haven't disliked any of it so far! Shall I tell you about our day yesterday? It was lush and went a little something like this:
9:15am - woke, to the sound of our rushing fan and the waves in the distance. Rose, showered, and walked to 'town' to get some cash. We have an adventure planned.
10.00am - returned, Tom still asleep (not surprising) and read my book (Anybody Out There by Marian Keys - so funny I laughed out loud several times, shocking the dog called Mummy who sleeps by our door).
11.00am - Tom wakes, opens the door to see me on the balcony reading, a huge smile lights my face and my real day begins.
11.30am - Tom has showered whilst I cut up fresh pineapple and bananas and make a cocktail from mango juice, pineapple juice and freezing cold water. It's a great breakfast.
11.45am - we wander to a local restaurant, Fernandoes, to meet up with Sashoo, who has arranged a fishing trip for us (eat your heart out Foo and Kris!). We get in the boat.
12.00pm - cast off into the blue green water on a small canoe like boat. Cannot see any fishing gear. Oh well. A boat out on the calm water will do me just fine.
12.15pm - arrive in a small cove by big boulders - looks promising for massive fish I plan to catch. The fishing gear comes out.... a few tiny lines wound around a piece of polystyrene - the sinkers look like flattened bullets.
12.20pm - some nibbles. Nothing too exciting.
12.28pm - captain of boat catches small fish - he says it's a cat fish but not like the ones we know with the whiskers - it's lovely - little blue spots and a lovely charcoal colour. Good one!
12.31pm - she's got something - Kaz starts to reel it in - it's... it's... a crab. Yes, Karen has caught crabs. Ha ha.
12.38pm - Tom getting bites, nothing too exciting.
12.43pm - she's got something else - feels like a fish this time - it's fighting against the hook in it's lip. Yes, another "cat" fish - bigger than the captains but still small - 10inches from head to tail. But still.... I've got the biggest - ha ha!
12.55pm - move to another spot - we've seen big fish jumping from the water - they want to be caught.
1.15pm - nope, that didn't work - let's go back.
1.25pm - Tom's hooked something. A very big something. It's fighting and I look into the water to see it. It looks big. It IS big. It's AN EEL! A big eel! Ha ha ha. As he pulls it from the water, the eel winds itself into indescribable contortions... he's not happy. A 5 minute struggle ensues where the stupid damn eel gets very caught up in the line. But our captain frees the eel (with minor injuries) and doesn't have to cut the line. Obviously hooks are expensive here?
1.37pm - Kaz catches another crab. What I don't understand is that you dont hook these guys. They just hold onto the food all the way up through the water and out into the air. Just let go you dill!
1.48pm - nothing more - some bites but nothing special.
2.00pm - back on the beach. The tide has gone out a bit and the boat drags on the sand. The captain and his mate get out to push us. The embarrassment.
2.15pm - lunch - palak paneer (a spinach and cheese dish which is incredible), rice and spring rolls. All that fishing made us hungry!
4pm - have sat on beach for a while, reading, drinking water.
5.15pm - time for a shower. Feel salty and gritty.
5.30pm - mmmm... shower delightful.
6.00pm - have arranged dinner with Tom and Jas from Sydney - lovely couple who we get along with really well. Hours of beer and good Thai food from the Banyan tree restaurant follows.
10.00pm - a bit pissed. Time for bed.
Brush teeth, brush sand from feet, hop in bed. Sleep.
So you see.... life for us is pretty simple. And very good.
Goa is incredible. The best place we've been in India and I haven't disliked any of it so far! Shall I tell you about our day yesterday? It was lush and went a little something like this:
9:15am - woke, to the sound of our rushing fan and the waves in the distance. Rose, showered, and walked to 'town' to get some cash. We have an adventure planned.
10.00am - returned, Tom still asleep (not surprising) and read my book (Anybody Out There by Marian Keys - so funny I laughed out loud several times, shocking the dog called Mummy who sleeps by our door).
11.00am - Tom wakes, opens the door to see me on the balcony reading, a huge smile lights my face and my real day begins.
11.30am - Tom has showered whilst I cut up fresh pineapple and bananas and make a cocktail from mango juice, pineapple juice and freezing cold water. It's a great breakfast.
11.45am - we wander to a local restaurant, Fernandoes, to meet up with Sashoo, who has arranged a fishing trip for us (eat your heart out Foo and Kris!). We get in the boat.
12.00pm - cast off into the blue green water on a small canoe like boat. Cannot see any fishing gear. Oh well. A boat out on the calm water will do me just fine.
12.15pm - arrive in a small cove by big boulders - looks promising for massive fish I plan to catch. The fishing gear comes out.... a few tiny lines wound around a piece of polystyrene - the sinkers look like flattened bullets.
12.20pm - some nibbles. Nothing too exciting.
12.28pm - captain of boat catches small fish - he says it's a cat fish but not like the ones we know with the whiskers - it's lovely - little blue spots and a lovely charcoal colour. Good one!
12.31pm - she's got something - Kaz starts to reel it in - it's... it's... a crab. Yes, Karen has caught crabs. Ha ha.
12.38pm - Tom getting bites, nothing too exciting.
12.43pm - she's got something else - feels like a fish this time - it's fighting against the hook in it's lip. Yes, another "cat" fish - bigger than the captains but still small - 10inches from head to tail. But still.... I've got the biggest - ha ha!
12.55pm - move to another spot - we've seen big fish jumping from the water - they want to be caught.
1.15pm - nope, that didn't work - let's go back.
1.25pm - Tom's hooked something. A very big something. It's fighting and I look into the water to see it. It looks big. It IS big. It's AN EEL! A big eel! Ha ha ha. As he pulls it from the water, the eel winds itself into indescribable contortions... he's not happy. A 5 minute struggle ensues where the stupid damn eel gets very caught up in the line. But our captain frees the eel (with minor injuries) and doesn't have to cut the line. Obviously hooks are expensive here?
1.37pm - Kaz catches another crab. What I don't understand is that you dont hook these guys. They just hold onto the food all the way up through the water and out into the air. Just let go you dill!
1.48pm - nothing more - some bites but nothing special.
2.00pm - back on the beach. The tide has gone out a bit and the boat drags on the sand. The captain and his mate get out to push us. The embarrassment.
2.15pm - lunch - palak paneer (a spinach and cheese dish which is incredible), rice and spring rolls. All that fishing made us hungry!
4pm - have sat on beach for a while, reading, drinking water.
5.15pm - time for a shower. Feel salty and gritty.
5.30pm - mmmm... shower delightful.
6.00pm - have arranged dinner with Tom and Jas from Sydney - lovely couple who we get along with really well. Hours of beer and good Thai food from the Banyan tree restaurant follows.
10.00pm - a bit pissed. Time for bed.
Brush teeth, brush sand from feet, hop in bed. Sleep.
So you see.... life for us is pretty simple. And very good.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Kerala Backwaters
We did a backwaters canoe boat tour yesterday and it was one of the best experiences we've had - 3 hours on a canoe with an Indian guide poling us through the waterways of Munroe Island in Kerala. We stopped at a rope making place (they make rope out of the husks of coconuts by soaking them in water for three months and then breaking them up into individual fibres and spinning them in a rope making machine). We discovered that the daily wage of a rope maker is 50 rupees - about AUD$1.30! Which means that their yearly wage is around $1600 and this is considered an excellent job by Indian standards.
We don't know how good we've got it in Australia.
We also visited a spice garden where we saw ginger, green pepper (they are dried to make black pepper) and acres of coconuts. And we were lucky enough to have a local man scoot up a coconut palm, break us off some, lop the top off for some coconut milk straight from the husk, and then give us the tender flesh inside. The indian people like the "tender" coconut best - no tough old coconuts like we have in Oz.
The tour was great - gave us a real look at village life in such an amazing place.
Tonight we hop on a train to the South of Goa to a small beach town called Palolem. We can't wait - apparently it's one of the best beaches in India. Yum!
Meanwhile, I've just had a look at some photos of my gorgeous friends partying for Melbourne Cup in Brisbane. You all look so beautiful and clean and groomed. I dream of the day that I will have my hair done again! ha ha. And a pretty dress! And makeup!
Cruel vanity!
Ha ha....
We don't know how good we've got it in Australia.
We also visited a spice garden where we saw ginger, green pepper (they are dried to make black pepper) and acres of coconuts. And we were lucky enough to have a local man scoot up a coconut palm, break us off some, lop the top off for some coconut milk straight from the husk, and then give us the tender flesh inside. The indian people like the "tender" coconut best - no tough old coconuts like we have in Oz.
The tour was great - gave us a real look at village life in such an amazing place.
Tonight we hop on a train to the South of Goa to a small beach town called Palolem. We can't wait - apparently it's one of the best beaches in India. Yum!
Meanwhile, I've just had a look at some photos of my gorgeous friends partying for Melbourne Cup in Brisbane. You all look so beautiful and clean and groomed. I dream of the day that I will have my hair done again! ha ha. And a pretty dress! And makeup!
Cruel vanity!
Ha ha....
Monday, November 5, 2007
Pics from India
Hopefully in order, here are the labels for these photos:
Sunset last night over the Arabian Sea at Varkala
Tom preparing to drink beer out of a coconut... his one burning ambition for this trip!
Sunset the night before from the balcony of a lovely restaurant where we sat and drank our first beers in 4 days (oh the relief!)
Tom eating a banana in our lovely hut
Tom on the very VERY long train trip - this was day 3. Thank god for the Playstation Portable!
Darjeeling hills - you can see a massive landslide in this pic!
A little Nepali kid hanging to the rails of our restaurant in Darjeeling - what a cutie!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Varkala magic
Oh lush lush lush. After 3 days on the train, this place was totally worth it.
We arrived in Trivandrum last night about 3 hours late at 2.30am and fortunately had made a booking at quite a nice hotel. Or at least we THOUGHT it was nice til we went to bed and I found a cockroach IN MY DAMN BED!!! YUCK! Needless to say, a night of pretty sleepless tossing and turning followed. But fortunately a TV with my favourite stations (ie. National Geographic and Discovery) was to the rescue.
Today, after getting up late, we decided to head straight to Varkala. It is a cliff top village in the state of Kerala in the very south of India (which means longer days, cheaper beers and an amazing sunset). We've just watched the most incredible sunset of our trip so far - breathtaking. I would upload photos but once again I'm being thwarted.
Ma, I tried to call you today but I figure you're still travelling. Hope you're having a ball.
Had a really really good day today. Staying in a place called Kerala Bamboo House http://www.vmtravels.com/hotel/photos1098.html which is really amazing - for $20 we get a beach hut with an open air bathroom, a lovely fast fan, a mossie net and a lovely ambience for the night. We may stay for a while!~
Anyway, the three day train trip wasn't nearly as bad as expected. Air conditioned and food being sold to us all day long. Lovely!
Photos soon. I swear!
Love Kx
We arrived in Trivandrum last night about 3 hours late at 2.30am and fortunately had made a booking at quite a nice hotel. Or at least we THOUGHT it was nice til we went to bed and I found a cockroach IN MY DAMN BED!!! YUCK! Needless to say, a night of pretty sleepless tossing and turning followed. But fortunately a TV with my favourite stations (ie. National Geographic and Discovery) was to the rescue.
Today, after getting up late, we decided to head straight to Varkala. It is a cliff top village in the state of Kerala in the very south of India (which means longer days, cheaper beers and an amazing sunset). We've just watched the most incredible sunset of our trip so far - breathtaking. I would upload photos but once again I'm being thwarted.
Ma, I tried to call you today but I figure you're still travelling. Hope you're having a ball.
Had a really really good day today. Staying in a place called Kerala Bamboo House http://www.vmtravels.com/hotel/photos1098.html which is really amazing - for $20 we get a beach hut with an open air bathroom, a lovely fast fan, a mossie net and a lovely ambience for the night. We may stay for a while!~
Anyway, the three day train trip wasn't nearly as bad as expected. Air conditioned and food being sold to us all day long. Lovely!
Photos soon. I swear!
Love Kx
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